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Rosemary

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Botanical name: Rosmarinus officinalis

Plant type: Herb

USDA Hardiness Zones: 6, 7, 8, 9

Sun exposure: Full Sun

Soil type: Sandy, Loamy

Rosemary is a perennial evergreen shrub with blue flowers. It is a pungent and distinctive plant with a sweet, resinous flavor. Rosemary is ideal for a rock garden or the top of a dry wall. It is used for poultry, lamb, stews, and soups.

Planting

  • For a head start, plant the seeds or cuttings indoors 8 to 10 weeks before the last spring frost.
  • Plant the seeds/cuttings in well-drained soil. For best growth, the soil should be around 70ºF.
  • Be sure to give your plants enough room to grow. Rosemary grows to about 4 feet tall and spreads about 4 feet as well.
  • In the garden, plant near beans, cabbage, carrots, and sage.

Care

  • After the plant flowers, remember to trim the plant.
  • For fresh rosemary in the winter, grow the plant indoors in a pot. Be sure to put it in bright light and cool temperatures.
  • Prune regularly so that the plant won't get lanky.
  • Water the plants evenly throughout the growing season.
  • Be sure to get cuttings or divide the plant for next season.

Pests

  • Aerial blight
  • Bacterial leaf spots
  • Several types of root rot

Harvest/Storage

  • Prune the stems to use fresh. During the winter, bring a rosemary plant indoors.
  • You can dry the leaves as well and store in an airtight container.

Recipes

Wit & Wisdom

Drink rosemary tea to enhance your memory.

Comments

By Anonymous on May 9

Got 8 plants years ago. all but 2 died. very little growth 1st year. Felt sorry for them, so I brought them in for winter. Covered soil with straw and left in a cool garage. Watered no more than 1x month (if that), little sun.
2nd year placed in partial shade and they took off. Feed 2x month. Still going after 11 years. I have to cut them back before bringing them back in for winter.
Pittsburgh,PA

By Anonymous on May 4

I planted my rosemary about some 20 years ago have never taken care of it or pruned it other than going out and picking some for the kitchen. The bush is now 5 plus feet tall and some ten feet across. Houston area.

By Anonymous

I live on Maui in the hottest area Lahaina 'meaning merceless sun in Hawaiian' I thought rosemary would do well here. I buy a plant. Plant it. It dies in about a week or less. What could be the problem?

By Anonymous

Check soil pH to be 7 or 7.5. Water the plant regularly.

By Almanac Staff

Make sure that rosemary never dries out between waterings--not a bit or it will die. Here are 2 suggestions: 1) use a larger pot with more soil to hold water. 2) use a fast-draining potting soil and a low dose of water-soluble fertilizer every 2 weeks.

By Anonymous

I just had my Third Plant Die!

By Anonymous

I have tried several times in the past to grow rosemary and they all die. I am going to put this plant in a pot with mricle grow potting soil. I dont know if I water it too much or not enough. please help.

By Almanac Staff

The trick with rosemary is: NEVER let it dry out completely between waterings. It can not bear to be dry. Sometimes they are so dry that they get overwatered and then they just rot. One trick is to put it in a larger pot with more soil to hold water. Use a fast-draining potting soil and a low dose of water-soluble fertilizer every 2 weeks. Good luck!

By Anonymous

I am a farmer from Nepal. I have. planted rosemary in 5000sq ft. Its alredy 12 weeks i plant but there is no change in Rosemary what can i do please suggest me

By Anonymous

We live in New Mexico and I have one rosemary plant that stays outside year round it is 3 years old now I cut it back several times each year and save and give away all the time it is a BUSH about the size of a barrel half the height our favorite is to use the rosemary on chopped potatoes in the oven baked I am so proud of this plant I have never seen rosemary so big it is planted under a Arizona ash tree on the berm of the well around the tree on the west side of our house

By Anonymous

I have a rosemary bush in the back of my house. It was there when we bought the house. I never water it, I do prune it because if I don't it will just take over, it grows so much.

I know I should be ashamed for not caring for it, but it is a hardy plant that doesn't seem to mind the neglect.

By Anonymous on May 16

I also have a rosemary bush in my backyard that I inherited from the previous owners of our newly bought house. It is so large that I have to cut it back...I too have done nothing to promote it's growth but I love it. I want to learn how to grow plants from cuttings so that I might give Christmas gifts to my friends this year.

By Anonymous

My Rosemary has grown very little, it is now mid July, I brought it home and set it out in a pot in May. It almost died but now looks a little better. Probably the extremely dry, hot weather we have had this summer here in West Virginia.

By Anonymous

I planted my rosemary in partial sun conditions in central WV ~ on the back porch which gets only morning sun and very little afternoon sun. It has done very well with the limited direct mid-day sun; so much so that I am already re-potting,dividing and sharing with my daughters & g'daughters.

By bigeagle16870

Put a layer of good straw down on top of the rosemary plant.. along with a few shovels full of compost along the edges around the plant.. the straw acts like a blanket and helps to hold in some heat around the plants' crown..once it snows you can do nothing more... snow insulates the plant from the real killer in winter the dry wind...

the compost holds the straw in place and gives some added "heat" but also will give the rosemary a jump start once the snow melts...

By ozarkbreeze75@y...

Rosemary doesn't overwinter here in Illinois. It seems like it's going to be able to winter over, but in the spring dies off from the roots up. My daughter grows it year around in North Carolina, though. And I NEVER have had luck growing it indoors, so I don't know what I'm doing wrong.

By Almanac Staff

Your best bet is to bring the rosemary indoors during the cold months. Place it in a southern window and let it dry out between waterings. You may want to mist the plant with water if the indoor air gets too dry.

By Anonymous

I grow it outdoors in Montana! I keep it short, and put a big white bucket over it in late December.I uncover it again after our early March blizzard.

By Anonymous

I water sparingly in the winter, even tho my kitchen is hot and dry. I generally skip one watering per week on my otherwise 2x wk schedule for other plants

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